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I stood in line patiently waiting to be seated. The man behind me started talking to me. My mother would have classified it as “small talk.” You know the kind I’m talking about, pleasantries with a little humor. He was a kind man that asked if I would like to join him for lunch. I said no thank you, meeting my friends but thank you very much for you kind offer. Not that I would have ever joined him (I’m married) but regardless no need to be rude and hurt someone’s feels.

I was shown to my reserved table for five out on the patio and sat down at the head of the table, a privilege I took due to my early arrival. A pair of eyes and a smile in a white button down shirt approached and asked if I would like anything to drink before the others arrived, yes please I said, an unsweetened ice tea with a splash of lemonade for it was only 12:20 in the afternoon. I pulled my book from my pink summer purse, Anna Quindlen’s Memoir “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” (yesterday’s post) and placed it on my lap. I opened to page 27 because I have already read the book twice. A fast read the first time, a slow and digestible second time and now I just go straight to the sections/chapters, words (I’ve memorized) that give me pleasure that I love to read and reread.

“Girlfriends” Anna Quindlen writes:

“Ask any woman how she makes it through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her babysitter. She may say that she’s learned to let unnecessary tasks ride, that she no longer worries too much about home-cooked meals or clean countertops, that her go-to outfit of black pants and colored jacket is always waiting at the front of the closet…But if you push her on how she really makes it through her day, or, more important, her months and years, how she stays steady when things get rocky, who she calls when the doc says “I’d like to run a few more tests” or when her son moves in with the girl she’s never much liked or trusted, she won’t mention any of those things. She will mention her girlfriends.”

Yes my girlfriends come in all ages, sizes, and colors and every one of them is perfect! You would be the wise reader not to disagree with me! Trust me on this one! They all (each and everyone of them) make a very imperfect world so very very perfect for me. Again, the wise reader will just agree with my last two statements! For every single female I call a friend has an unbreakable honor code, one of trust and very much lives in the grown up world of doing the very best they can (honorably!) They love their husbands, children and friends. They are very appreciative for everything in their lives…for they know the grass is NOT greener on the other side!

The ladies arrived on time, of course looking beautiful…can’t remember what anyone wore but I do remember their smiles! We talked, we laughed, we listened and reaffirmed. I shared an excerpt from Anna Quindlen’s book; page 117, the perfect and most eloquent words that sums up our parenting style in a nutshell…. “There comes that moment when we give our children custody of their own selves…when we understand being a parent is not transactional, that we do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: we are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us.”

There are moments in our lives when the traffic in our heads stop for just a moment and we realize we are exactly where we want to be and as I looked around the table and saw friends (women) that I was honored and humbled to be among as with all those I call “a friend.” I knew I was in that moment.

Asklotta and staff will MIND YOUR BUSINESS today enjoying my lunch leftovers with a smile on my face and love in my heart for all my girlfriends…near and far!

Again, it has been my pleasure to tell you what to do and what NOT to do!